1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seatbelt system for restraining and protecting an occupant of a road vehicle during emergency of the vehicle, and particularly to a seatbelt system in which a lap webbing is smoothly wound into and out from a retractor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, in the case wherein the retractor is embedded in a center pillar provided above the floor surface of the vehicle as in a double-winding-type seatbelt system or the like wherein a lap webbing and a shoulder webbing are wound up by a single retractor one over the other, the lap webbing is adapted to be turned back through a lap slip anchor installed on the floor of the vehicle.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the conventional seatbelt system of the type described. Incorporated in the center pillar of the vehicle is a retractor 1, into which the lap webbing 2 together with the shoulder webbing 3 are wound up by a biasing force. The lap webbing 2 is turned back through a lap slip anchor 4 swingably installed on the floor of the vehicle, the shoulder webbing 3 is turned back through a shoulder slip anchor 5 swingably installed on the roof of the vehicle, the lap webbing 2 and shoulder webbing 3 are integrally connected at the respective intermediate portions to each other, and a tongue plate 6 is slidably coupled onto the webbing in the longitudinal direction thereof. The tongue plate 6 is engaged with a buckle means not shown so as to be able to install the lap webbing 2 and shoulder webbing 3 around the body of an occupant seated.
However, with the conventional seatbelt system of the type described, although the lap webbing is smoothly wound up by the retractor 1 because the wind-up direction is aligned with the center line of the retractor 1, when the lap webbing 2 is wound out of the retractor 1, the lap slip anchor 4 swings to a great extent in accordance with the pulling direction of the tongue plate 6, whereby the wind-out angle of the lap webbing 2 between the retractor 1 and the lap slip anchor 4 becomes extremely large, thereby making the smooth wind-out difficult.